The Partner
by Angeleia Kenobi
Summary: Nick meets up with Brass's niece and has to protect her. Oneshot, not my usual stuff, please read and review!


She stared at the evidence through her microscope. It wasn't possible! She'd followed this trail for years and now the damn thing had gone cold. Slapping her palm on the table she growled loudly as her partner entered the lab. "You okay?" he asked, waving a paper bag at her. She glowered at him, "Oh yes!" she was being sarcastic, "I'm perfectly fine!" she shoved her chair away from the table and opened the lunch bag he'd brought with him, "The Necromancer Killer just lost me." She removed a wrapped deli sandwich and walked with him down the hall to the lunch room. "I can't believe it, I was so close! They reached the lunch room and she set down her drink, "Well?"

"What?" he looked really confused. "Well where's the condolences, the 'it's not your faults.'?" He chuckled and they both looked up as their boss walked in, a folder in his hand. "What you got there boss?" The man looked down at the file, "This? Oh, it's nothing." Before he could leave, she hopped up and grabbed it from his hands.

Inside was a fax asking for someone to transfer to another lab.

----------

Jennifer Harmon sat at her desk, staring at nothing in particular. Although she had a clam exterior, inside her brain was in overdrive. She'd grabbed that file form her boss that morning, completely oblivious to what he would say next. "Jenna, you've done some great work over the years." Jenna had nodded, "you're one of the best on the team, that's why I'm sending you to help them out for a while." Jenna hadn't known what to say, so her boss continued, "Tell me Jenna, have you ever been to Vegas?"

Jenna reacted, "Vegas! You're sending me to Vegas!" He glared at her, "I'd rather have you stay here, with the rest of us in Carson, but the D.A. Says he wants the best sent to Vegas while they get a few more people to help out. Apparently things are getting rather difficult down there for their night shift." he'd handed her an itinerary, "This is a schedule to help you with your move. Your last day here is today, as I understand you have no current cases." Jenna nodded sullenly, "Don't worry Jenna." he'd said, "You'll catch him. Besides, your not the only one losing friends."

Jenna's gaze fell to the phone, the only thing now on her desk. She knew she shouldn't, but her hand moved of its own volition. Picking up the receiver, she punched in her uncles cell number.

It took two rings for him to pick up, "Brass."

"Hey, Uncle Jim." her voice sounded so pathetic.

"Jenna? Jenna, what's up?" she could hear voices in the background, and what seemed like a radio blaring...'Breaking the Law' by Judas Priest. She shook her head and smiled, "Nothing. I've just been transferred." she opened the skinny pencil drawer and removed her side arm.

"To where?"

"Vegas. They say you need some help on graveyard." pulling the safety, she pointed it at the photo of the governor on the far wall, she'd always hated the thing.

"Well, do you have a place to stay?" he was interrupted by a male voice, it sounded a lot younger than her uncle. "Hang on Jenna. I need to go...don't hang up, talk to Nicky here for a second, I'll be right back." She lowered the weapon and flipped the safety back, "Sure." there was scraping as the phone was shuffled between hands and then the voice from earlier spoke, "Hello?"

"Hi. Sorry he did that. He doesn't want me to hang up." she stood to remove the picture and put it on the ground. The voice chuckled, "i was told to keep you on the phone no matter what. So what's your name?"

"Jenna, what's yours."

"Nick Stokes, Las Vegas Crime Lab. Where you from, Jenna?"

She debated for a moment before she said, "I'm with the Carson City crime lab. Just been transferred out though."

"Oh? To where?"

"Vegas." she answered before she could stop herself, and she could mentally see his ears perking. "Apparently I've been assigned to the night shift."

"I guess I'll see you around then. Didn't I hear Jim ask if you had a place to stay?"

She smirked, "Yeah, you did...and as far as I know I don't. I've got a hotel to stay in for a while, but after a week I'm gonna have to find some other place. My boss just dropped this on me today."

"Well, if you need somewhere to stay, I've got an extra room...." Jenna laughed and shook her head, "You don't even know me!" she heard him chuckle also, "That can change. So when are you coming down?"

"I fly out tomorrow, but I can stay in a hotel, it's not a big deal." A knock came to her door, "Look, I've got to go. Tell Brass I'm on flight 416 out of Carson, it lands, or should, at six tomorrow." then she hung up.

----------

Standing in a loose white sundress, tie up gladiator sandals, hair down and sunglasses over her eyes, Jenna Harmon was a gorgeous woman. She'd brought only two suitcases with her, the rest of her things would be following on a truck later that week. She watched a black SUV pull up next to her, and the passenger side window rolled down. The driver was in his late twenties, early thirties max, with sharp features and brown hair.

He was staring at her through thick sunglasses.

"Jenna Harmon?" she nodded slowly, pushing her sunglasses on top of her head. "My names Nick Stokes, I was sent by Brass to pick you up." the corner f her mouth twitched, "Why don't I believe you?" Nick laughed and got out of the vehicle. Jenna watched him as he moved over to her suitcases and hefted them into the back of the SUV. He was a good head taller than her, even in her current heels. The t-shirt he wore was tight across his arms and back as he raised his arms to lowered the back door. "Which hotel you staying at?"

"I've got a room at the Best Western over there." she pointed in it's direction, and Nick opened the door for her. "Thank you." she said, pulling her sunglasses back over her eyes. Once he climbed in, he cranked the A/C and flipped on the radio, making 'The Gambler' come over the speakers. "So Nick, who would I talk to about my job here?"

"That would be Catherine." Nick replied, pulling onto the interstate, "She's got all your paperwork already." he merged over and took an off ramp. "She's rather picky about who goes where. She'll probably keep you on a short leash for a while."

"Great." Jenna groaned, leaning her head back against the rest as the song changed, 'Wild at Heart'. "I'm going to be treated like the rookie, aren't I?" he chuckled, but didn't answer as they pulled into a crowded parking lot. Police cruisers and tape was everywhere, "What's going on here?" he asked himself, helping her out of the car. Tape had sealed of a corner of the lot, around a windows worth of broken glass.

Jenna hurried over to the front desk, and the girl asked, "Can I help you?" she looked shaken, and Jenna felt her stomach flip. "Yes, you should have a room for Jenna Harmon." the girl gave her an odd look, and motioned to a nearby officer. "I'm sorry, Ms Harmon, but there's a problem with your room."

"How so?" Jenna knew something was up now. Nick leaned on the desk and nodded to the approaching officer. Something in her gut was screaming at her. "I can get you another room, if you like..." the girl offered, but frowned when she looked at the computer screen, "Or maybe I won't be able to." Jenna shook her head and put rested her chin on her hand, "Can you just give me a refund then?"

As the girl handed her the receipt, Jenna heard her uncles voice and turned to look at him as he talked on the phone with someone.

"What's going on?" she asked. Nick cleared his throat, "Homicide." he glanced back towards Brass who was now being talked to by a woman with reddish blonde hair and was wearing a CSI vest. "Did you get your key?" she shook her head, "Your homicide took place in what was supposed to be my room." He opened his mouth to ask, but she beat him to it, "There's nothing else available." she blew her breath upwards to play with her hair.

"So...you wanna stay at my place?" Nick's offer was drowned out by Brass's shout, "Jennifer Harmon!" Jenna grinned and walked over to him, "Jenna, I'd like you to meet your new boss, Catherine Willows. Catherine, this is my niece, Jenna. She's been brought down here from Carson to help out." Catherine offered her hand, "Nice to meet you."

"Same to you, Sorry to be such a bother." Catherine's brows knit together, and Jenna grinned, "your homicide took place in the room I was supposed to have." Brass laughed as Catherine gave her a look.

"Do you have a back up place?" Brass asked, putting a hand around her shoulders and taking her outside. "I've got an extra room if you want it." They'd reached the doors when Nick reappeared. She glanced at him, then turned back to Brass, "Actually, Nick's offered a share of his place." She pulled away from her uncle and put her sunglasses back on. Brass looked at Nick, "You did?" the look on her uncles face was priceless and took every ounce of will power to not burst out laughing.

Nick looked at her, then back to Brass, "So what if I did? What's wrong with being nice to the newbie?"

"Nothing's wrong with it, just that this is my niece here Nick." Brass folded his arms and glared at Nick. Jenna did laugh then, and both men looked at her, "Uncle Jim, you've gotten too used to being the protective uncle. Relax, I'll be fine!" she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, "Trust me."

"That's what your mother said the last time I saw her. Famous last words." she smiled, "I know, you'll worry all the same." He pushed her gently and stepped back to the scene.

"You could've warned me about your relationship with Brass." Nick said as they walked back outside, miffed about the whole altercation. Jenna just grinned, flashing her white teeth, "Why? And miss out on all that fun? You should have seen your face!" she started giggling and couldn't stop. "You're incorrigible." Nick said, grinning.

"I know. So where do you live?"

----------

Jenna pulled her shoulder length dirty blonde hair into a tight ponytail. She left the bathroom, wrapped only in a towel, and made her way into her room, passing Nick's open bedroom door. She knew he wasn't in there, she'd heard him clinking around in the kitchen earlier. Quickly she threw on a camo tank and black cargo pants, her usual attire for a work shift.

There was a knock on the door, "Yeah?" she called and Nick cracked the door open, "You ready?" he asked, "Just about, come on in." she replied, and the door opened completely. She was bent over, picking up her boots, and saw him look her over. "What?" she asked, straightening and turning around to look at him. "Oh, nothing." he muttered, handing over her sunglasses, "You might want these."

"Thanks." she said, barely squeezing past him out the door. She smiled to herself as she quickly stomped into the boots, but didn't bother with lacing them. She'd get them in the car.

Nick followed, shaking his head. "Let me guess," she said as they exited his apartment, "You were expecting someone a little less like this?" They made their way down the stairs and were almost to their cars. "Well, not really. I suppose you're a bit more of the tomboy than I expected." Jenna stopped behind her rented Mustang and popped the trunk, double checking that all of her gear was there. "You lead, I'll follow." she called over to Nick, who was doing the same. He waved his hand to her and off they went.

----------

Jenna marveled at the lab as she was given the shorthand tour by a lab tech. "You need anything, just ask." he said as they reached Catherine's office door, "Yeah," she said absently, "I know where to go." she opened the door and closed it between them quickly, anxious to get away from the nerd. Jenna put her hand over her eyes and leaned back against the door, blowing out her breath. "You're late." said Catherine from behind her desk. Jenna removed her hand and looked at her, surprised. She was leaning back in a chair, Jenna's work file open on the desk in front of her. Jenna smirked, "I, uh, got a little lost." Catherine's mouth twitched, "Well, now that you know your way around, I'd like to discuss your latest case from Carson."

Jenna groaned and plopped in a chair across the desk, "Let me guess, you're gonna nitpick over a case I had to close."

"You **had** to?" Catherine looked skeptical.

Jenna sighed, "There was insufficient evidence to support what I knew had happened." Catherine leaned forward, "Why don't you tell me what happened." Jenna took a deep breath, "There had been a string of ten homicides, all with the same COD, the victim was strangled, then raped postmortem. Each was found at the scene, prepared for burial, except for one body part was missing." she shuddered involuntarily, and Catherine nodded for her to continue. "Autopsy showed that each removal was pre-mortem, and as such fell under torture."

Catherine nodded, "I remember reading about it. The reason I bring it up is that the homicide form last night matched that case file. I'd appreciate it if you and..." a knock came to the door, "You asked to see me?" said a young woman, not much older than Jenna, with black hair.

"Sara come in. This is Jenna Harmon, she'll be working last nights case with you. She's worked the MO before and might notice something we missed." Sara nodded, and pushed the door open further, "Well come on!"

Jenna watched Sara's face as they re-entered the hotel room. Although her stomach roiled, the sight was nothing new to Jenna. "So what's the scoop?"

"Female victim, about 25 years old, time of death was about 9 pm last night. Housekeeping came in and found her."

"Anything else?" Sara pointed to the wall, "He left a calling card." Jenna looked where she was pointing a couldn't stop the hiss form escaping her lips. Above the bed where the body had been found, illuminated by Sara's black-light, was an almost perfect reconstruction of Jenna's eyes.

She approached it slowly, careful of the tossed room, and grabbed up her own light. Moving over the area slowly, she knew when she'd found it. Just below the right eye was that handprint...minus fingers. Quickly she grabbed up her camera, "You won't be able to get a good shot of it." Sara said, watching this newcomer.

"Watch me." Jenna said, flipping a few switches on her camera and snapping the shutter. "This is a special camera that can take any shot I want, even infrared if I needed to." Jenna carefully put the camera back around her neck and glanced around the room.

"How much does something like that cost?" Sara asked, getting back to scanning the rest of the room.

"It took me two years to save up enough just to buy the film." Jenna said, shaking her head and snapping a few more photos. "The camera itself was dang close to half a million." She switched it to regular shots, and took a few more shots.

----------

"Who pays for something like that?" Sara asked Nick as they shared a burger lunch in the break room. Across the hall from them was Jenna, leaning over a microscope and talking to Helen.

Nick smirked, "Grissom would." it came between mouthfuls. Sara grinned, "Well, yeah, but we're not talking about someone who lives and breathes CSI here. Jenna strikes me as someone who's pretty down to Earth." she took a long sip from her soda.

Jenna left the lab and walked down the hall, headed for autopsy. Nick watched her walk away, then took another bite of his burger, 'Down to Earth, huh?' he thought, then shrugged.

Jenna folded her arms and stared down at Necromancers' latest victim. "You seem fairly calm for someone who's just seem their image painted on a wall in blood." she turned her head to see the Raymond Langston standing in the doorway. He walked over to her and looked down at the body.

"She was number eleven." Jenna murmured, rubbing a post at the base of her neck.

"What?"

"I've called up an old friend from Carson, and he's sending all my old files with similar MO's. I've gotta compare notes." she stopped rubbing her neck and put her hands on her hips. "We called him the Necromancer in Carson." she turned and looked at Ray, "I should never have closed that case...maybe I wouldn't be down here." she sighed and walked to the doors, "If this is who I think it is, then we've got some reading to do." Ray followed her to the chem/DNA lab where she started talking to Helen again, "Find anything new?"

"Nothing good." the woman said, handing her a readout. "The fluids from our little Picasso all came from the victim. There was nothing to link anyone else to the room."

"Except the fact that a girls dead and somehow she was completely scalped." Sara walked in, a stack of photo's in her hand, "We've got something more." she placed the photos on the table and Jenna grabbed the top one. "Who's this?"

"Our victim had a visitor from 6:30 to 8 pm last night. That's the camera shot of her entering and leaving."

Jenna put the photo back down, "But the doc put our time of death at 9, and there was no sign of her being bled out at all." Catherine appeared behind Sara, waving a brown paper bag, "Break time, eat and tell me what you've got." As the three of them went over the case, Nick and Greg walked in, each carrying a file box. "These just came in," Nick said, setting his load on the table. "Wonderful!" Jenna whispered, and opened it, removing the first file. "These are those past files I sent for," she explained to the group, "If there's any connection between these and this case, we better find it." she sat down and pulled out a pen and paper. "What are you doing?" Nick asked, stealing a sip form her soda.

"Taking notes."

----------

Two days and one big headache later, Jenna was standing in the kitchen fixing a pot of coffee when it hit her. "HOLY CRAP!" she shouted, then winced as she remembered that Nick was still asleep. It was so obvious, she could kick herself for not thinking of it sooner. Leaving her half-eaten bowl of cereal on the counter, she raced back to her bedroom and removed a thick stack of photographs from her gear box.

As she sat at the short coffee table, Nick emerged from his room, shirtless and rubbing his eyes. "What's all the racket for?" Jenna didn't look up from the table so he walked over to her, and watched as she reconstructed a human body. "She's beautiful." he said, finally seeing the big picture. "You're missing a few pieces though. Jenna sat back on her heels, and stared at it. "It's like looking into a broken mirror." she whispered, and fell from her heels onto her rump. Nick moved to stand behind her and his jaw dropped.

"We've been giving him the wrong name." she said, arranging the pictures again on the main squad table. "He's not the Necromancer. He's a Frankenstein." Sara looked up sharply at her, "You mean he's building a human body?" Jenna nodded and braced her arms against the table. "The only things he's missing are a pair of eyes, a heart and a brain. If the victims are to be any indication." Jenna swallowed, "He's already told us who he's going after next." She slid the photo she'd taken from the 11th victim's room, the pair of eyes. "Eyes."

"And that's the catch." Jenna said, dropping her head and kicking at the floor. "We can't just pull everyone off the streets for fear they're next." He cell phone rang and she stepped back to take the call.

"Hello?"

"Jenna?"

"Uncle Jim? What's up?" she hit speaker and went back to the table. "Jen, we got a twofer here."

"What's missing?" she glanced at Nick.

"One's eyes, and the other's heart." she put a hand over her eyes, "He's going for a brain next."

"How'd you know....no wait, don't answer that. Cath, can we get Jenna taken from this case and take a break for a few days?"

"WHY?!" Jenna asked as Brass was called over by another officer, "Cause I said so!" he screamed and slammed his phone shut. He angrily stared at the wall where the blood still dripped and reeked of death.

Just to be clear, the only brain that's worth my time is that of Jenna Harmon's!– Frankenstein

----------

Jenna slammed the door on her locker and turned around to see Nick. "What?" Nick smiled grimly, "I've been asked to watch you." he said, plopping his bag on the bench. "Ugh!" she growled, throwing up her hands and plopping on the bench. "I don't see why I can't finish this case!"

Nick came over and sat next to her, "Come on. Let me buy you a drink." She looked at him, genuinely intrigued, "You're quite the ladies man aren't you?" he shrugged and put a hand on her back. "I don't know Nick, I really should get some sleep."

"Oh you'll sleep. Eventually." she raised an eyebrow at him, then grinned.

She stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom, studying her reflection. She knew that Nick found her attractive, although she couldn't really see why. Shaking her head, she tightened the knots on her corset top and checked the rear view one last time, before exiting the bathroom and walking out into the main room. "So where am I being taken tonight?" she asked.

Nick had his back to her, and when he turned back, she could see he was on the phone. "...Yeah...No, it's not a problem...don't worry about it...sure, I'll do that. Bye." As he hung up, he started talking to her. "That was Catherine. Things at the crime scene Brass found were..."

"He's coming after me isn't he?" she blurted.

Nick nodded, "There was something written on the wall. He knows you...something about only brain worth his time..." Jenna interrupted him again, but this time she was running back to her room. Nick followed her, and found her digging through an old photo album. "Said I was the only brain worth his time?" she didn't turn to see him nod, "There's only one person who's ever said that about me." she stood up, photograph in hand, "This is him."

The picture was of a young man, about Nick's age, height and build, with striking blond hair and intense brown eyes. Catherine looked at the picture hard, then had a realization of her own. "He was at the scene." she said to Brass, "That nosy reporter that kept pestering both you and me, he disappeared after Jenna showed up." Brass grabbed the picture from her, and glared at the smiling face. "That's her old partner." he exclaimed, leaping for the phone.

Nick locked his door and turned to see Jenna curled into a ball on the end of his couch. "I've been scared before, but never like this." she said, her eyes glued to the door handle. Gingerly, Nick sat down next to her, and she snapped her eyes around to look at him. "you...you were asked to protect me weren't you." she whispered, the grip on her legs loosening. Nick nodded, and carefully brought an arm around her shoulders. Instinctively she scooted closer and wrapped her arms around his neck. With her head buried in his shoulder, she whispered, "Don't let him hurt me."

Nick tightened his hold on her and laid an innocent kiss on her hair. "Don't worry. Your Uncle Jim's got it under control. I'm here more for morale." she lifted her head and Nick could see she was about to cry. "Are you doing anything for the night?" he asked, trying to make her smile. Jenna felt her cheeks widen slightly, "No."

"How about take – out and a movie."

_Outside the building, climbing out of a dark colored SUV, a man checked the lights in Nick's apartment. On the front passengers' seat of the vehicle was a large bag, and he checked to be sure he had the right tools. Zipping it shut, the man shut the doors to his car, and walked to the stairs leading to Nicks apartment._

Jenna leaned back from the coffee table, purposefully putting her head against Nicks shoulder. Onscreen the heroine was running from the mass murderer. "I wouldn't have thought you'd want to watch a horror flick." Nick said, his eyes flicking over Jenna's frame. She leaned back up to look at him, "Why? Just because I have someone after my brain?" he shrugged, "You'll find I'm not some run of the mill girl, Nick Stokes." she leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "I've got quite a few tricks up my sleeve." Nick chuckled and kissed her nose, "I'll bet, but I'm still gonna think of you as normal."

The doorbell rang.

"That'll be the food," Nick started, getting up of the couch and walking towards the door. He was about to open it when Jenna's hand clasped around his upper arm, "Hello?" she called out, flipping the deadbolt.

"Jenna? Jenna it's me, Rory form Carson."

She glanced at Nick, and relocked the deadbolt. They backed away slowly, Nick shutting off the tv. "Jenna?" Rory called, "JENNA! I know you're in there!" the door rattled, and then shook as he kicked at it. "Jenna Harmon, come out here now!" he kept on ranting as she and Nick crept into the back room.

On the way, Nick grabbed his gun and Jenna began punching numbers into her cell phone.

"Brass."

"Uncle Jim...he's here."

"Where are you?"

"Nick's. Please hurry, he's really angry."

"Stay with Nick, he'll keep an eye on you. I'll be there soon!" The click as her uncle hung up sounded a little too final to Jenna. Carefully, she slid the phone into her back pocket and followed Nick into his bedroom. The only one with a lock on the door and access to the fire escape.

She could still hear Rory's angry voice from the front room as he continued to pound on the door, and clung to Nicks sides for support. He looked at her and read the blatant terror on her face. "This isn't the first time, is it?" he asked, ripping his attention back to the door.

Jenna nodded, "Yes. When I was little my father used to beat my mother. Then one day she decided to stand up for herself and locked him out. We were waiting for the cops to arrive when he broke in..." she drew a shuddering breath, "They let him go, he threatened mine and my mother's life and the bastards let him go." Nick glanced at her and saw a tear roll down her cheek. "He killed her didn't he?"she nodded, "Both her and a friend of hers who had the misfortune of being male. There wasn't enough evidence to put him away, but everyone knew he did it." The yelling stopped, and more loud thuds could be heard. "He's gonna get in!" she whimpered, memories flooding her.

Nick pulled her protectively close and kissed her...hard. He found her willing and was returning the kiss. He was about to get lost in it when there came a loud crash from the front room as the door was blasted from the frame. Jenna pulled herself away with a quiet moan and shoved him behind the bed. "Shhh." she hissed, pushing him until he was hidden from sight.

Nick watched as Jenna bent and removed a small pistol from a hidden holster inside her boot. He could hear Rory speaking, coaxing Jenna to reveal herself. "C'mon Jenna! I wouldn't hurt you! I just need some help, I've got this new invention and you add the final touch!" Jenna gave a derisive snort, "Yeah I'll just bet." she called out, stuffing the weapon in her rear waistband. The door opened and there he stood, all six foot three Rory had a commanding figure towering over Jenna.

Forcing all memories of her father's attack from her mind, she tried to sound calm, "What is it you want?"

With sirens silenced, Brass and a good twenty of Las Vegas police roared into the parking lot. "be careful!" he said to a nearby officer, "Don't do anything that ill make him hurt her."

Jenna let Rory lead her to the main room, his knife at her throat. "You're the smartest person I know. Jenna, doesn't it make sense that your replica be just as smart?"

"My replica?" she asked carefully, straining to hear any noise form the back rooms from Nick.

There! Just a shuffle, and she saw his darker shadow in the hall. "Um, Rory...I need to sneeze." he let back on the pressure of the knife and she forced a loud sneeze. She would have missed it, but she could have sworn she heard the clink of a bullet entering the chamber.

Rory had given her more than enough room for her distraction, and now as he tried to grab her back to him, she slipped out of his grip and yanked out her own weapon. "Now, you wanna tell me what you're up to?" Rory smirked, "See what I mean? Brilliant! What I'm up to, eh? Well I'll tell you, not because you asked, but everyone deserves to know." he began, twirling the knife in his fingers.

"I've be building a woman," Jenna's brow wrinkled with disgust. "A woman that was dumb enough to refuse me."

Jenna's eyes widened, but her gun never wavered, "You're re-creating me?" Rory nodded, "Because I wouldn't go out with you." he nodded, the knife still moving, "Yes, you. You're the only woman that's intrigued me the way you do. And you told me to shoove off!" his eyes grew cold and an ominous shiver ran down Jenna's spine. "All I wanted was one date. Just one night to show you that I could be good. So I figured out a way to have you all to myself." The knife stopped twirling and he took a step closer to her, "You should see her, she really is beautiful. But there's something missing... she can't talk to me the way you do. So thought I'd come and get you myself. Get you to teach her how to act.

He lunged at her and things seemed to slow down.

Jenna heard her uncle's shout, heard Nick scream at her to move, the thunder of gunfire. Then she felt a tearing in her side and the cold steel of a knife blade. Groaning, she fell backwards, with Rory's now dead body atop of her. She was so close to passing out, but she could just see Nick coming closer. Blinking, she felt Rory's body being lifted from her, and gentle hands brush her hair back, "Hang on" she heard someone say, then she couldn't hear anymore.

----------

Nick sat outside Jenna's hospital room, his eyes red form lack of sleep. The window showed Jenna asleep, an IV dripping into her arm and the heart monitor beeping steadily. He'd been here, as with her as he could be, ever since she'd been admitted three days ago.

The knife had missed her liver, but had severed several blood vessels and nerve endings. It had also nicked her kidney and sliced through several feet of intestine. She'd spent several hours in surgery, and had yet to wake up. The nurses kept her heavily sedated, saying it would help her sleep off the pain.

But Nick had a strong feeling that she was awake, wanting reality to be the dream.

"Any change?" It was Brass. He sat down next to Nick to watch his niece breathe. "Nothing...I don't know for sure, but I bet she's blaming herself." Nick said.

"Why?"

"Maybe," interjected Sara, coming to look in on him, "she thinks that she should have let him take her out." Brass passed her a curious look, "If she had consented to one date, maybe eleven other girls would still be alive." she let her words hang in the air, "You okay Nick?"

His eyes remained on Jenna. "She asked me to take care of her." he glanced at Brass. "She sounded so helpless, and her eyes...she looked haunted."

"It's not your fault." brass said, putting a hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Yes it is!" Nick erupted from his seat, and rested his forehead against the glass. "I was supposed to protect her and instead she's lying in there." he closed his eyes, fighting tears.

"Wow, she's got you good!" came a voice, making the three turn to look down the hall at a burly man walking their way. "Sorry I'm late Uncle Jim."

Brass smiled at him, "It's okay. She's important to a lot of us." He glanced at the other two, "Nick, Sara, this is Jenna's brother, Lucas."

"Hey." Sara said, but Nick stared at him. "You're Jenna's brother? Why didn't she ever mention you?" Lucas chuckled, I'm not exactly the prized jewel of the family that Jenna is." he shook his head and looked through the window next to Nick. "What happens to the guy that did this?"

"He's been shipped up to Carson to be buried in his family plot."

Lucas nodded, "That's good. I don't think Jen could handle me being in for another few years." he laughed at the looks he got. "When Dad killed our mother, he was released because there wasn't enough evidence to pin him to it. Jen and I went over every little scrap we could get our hands on, but there wasn't enough...not without..."

"A confession." Nick said, understanding hitting him finally. Lucas nodded, "Without that, it was all circumstantial, and wouldn't hold up in court. So I went out to find him..."

"And for all Jenna knows, you didn't find him." Nick said, "So when Rory was hacking at my front door, she thought it was him." Lucas was nodding the entire time he spoke, "She kept it no secret where she was going, she wanted to draw him out." Lucas blew out his breath, "And now she's lying there."

A nurse approached, "Can I see her?" Lucas asked.

"She's asleep."

"She'll wake up for me. I'm her brother." she nodded and let him into the room. She looked so small next to all the machines hooked up to her. "Hey kid." he whispered, and the heart monitor spiked. "it's me, Lucas." her head moved, he held his breath and her eyes opened.

"Lucas?" her voice was barely audible.

"Yeah. How you feeling kid?"

"I finally figured out what hurts."

Lucas smirked, "What?" she took a slow breath, "i could have saved those girls, Luc. One date....that's all that it would have taken."

"He's just like Dad, Jen. Gone and best forgotten. I won't have you blaming yourself for something you didn't know would happen." Jenna turned her head away from him and saw Nick standing outside the window.

"You like him don't you?" Jenna grinned, "You always were too observant for your own good, Luc."

"So, that's a yes?" Jenna just grinned.


End file.
